Ian Swingland
Encyclopedia
Professor Ian Swingland founded DICE (Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
) at the University of Kent
in 1989. While at DICE he served as director and was elected to the first Chair in Conservation Biology
in the United Kingdom.
, London, followed by London, Edinburgh and Oxford Universities. At London University, he read zoology
and social anthropology
and published his first scientific paper on the location of memory in a vertebrate in Nature in 1969 while an undergraduate. After working for Shell Research International for a short time, he took a PhD
in ecology
in the Forestry and Natural Resources Department at Edinburgh University on a Department for International Development
(formerly Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Overseas Development Administration) Scholarship. In 1974 he joined Oxford University Zoology Department for five years funded by NERC
(Natural Environment Research Council) and the Royal Society
to work on the giant tortoises of Aldabra Atoll, Western Indian Ocean. He has been a former Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan
, University of Florence
, University of Auckland
, and Manchester Metropolitan University
and has worked as a research mathematician for Royal Dutch Shell
at Sittingbourne, Kent UK.
In 1979 he was appointed to the University of Kent
to create their Natural Science Continuing Education programme where he played a significant role in creating the national Access course
which is designed for people who would like to study in higher education but who left school without the usual qualifications, and ten years later founded DICE.
) is a multi-disciplinary research and postgraduate conservation training institute which has always maintained its commitment to the ideals set out at its founding: 'to fuse the accumulated experience of practical conservation projects and state of the art biological science with realistic perspectives of economics and the social sciences'. The name was chosen in recognition of Ian Swingland’s good friend, Gerald Durrell
, and his lifelong commitment to conservation. Swingland retired from the University in 1999 but continues to serve as Professor Emeritus, and as chair of the Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology which raises grants, scholarships and endowments for DICE so that it can expand its mission.
1989 (renamed the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust ), an international NGO and the international journal Biodiversity and Conservation 1989, the world’s first multidisciplinary journal in biodiversity management and sustainable development. He also co-founded a number of companies (such as Sustainable Forestry Management) which apply business and market approaches to benefiting conservation, biodiversity and people on an integrated, sustainable and ethical basis and co-founded, with Neil Wates and Colin Spedding, the think-tank RURAL in 1980 (Responsible Use of Resources in Agriculture and on the Land).
He was a draftsman of part of the Convention on Biological Diversity
concerning fair and equitable sharing of benefits (PrepComm UNEP Nairobi 1990) and was asked by Peter Scott to create the IUCN/SSC (International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission) Tortoise Group in 1981 which is now the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.
As with the international agencies, Ian Swingland has had a lifelong involvement in national and international charities which improve the environment and people’s standard of living. He has influenced them to increasingly structure projects to become self-funding, economic sustainability being a precursor of environmental sustainability. He was a Trustee of Earthwatch
1999-2009, and is Trust Chairman of Operation Wallacea
. The Trust funds projects which seek to empower communities and individuals to develop successful commercially viable enterprises linked to the protection of biodiversity. Funding for nature conservation projects often includes provision of alternative livelihoods but in many cases these alternatives are not then linked to enhanced protection of the wildlife and habitats. He is also chair of the Rural Regeneration Unit, a Social Enterprise dedicated to self-help projects and a substantial food co-operative which has won prizes from the World Health Organisation and Carnegie United Kingdom Trust
, and the Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology, the Trust dedicated to support DICE. He has served on the RSPCA Council 1990-1995 and as Chair of its Wildlife Committee 1985-1990, as well as delivering their 150th Anniversary Lecture. Since 1985 he has served at various times on the Council of Fauna & Flora International [5] and has been the longest standing board member to the Darwin Initiative
, which funds multi-sectoral international projects in biodiversity management for the UK government. He was Chair of the Apple and Pear Research Council, a part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
since 2003, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, Victoria University of Wellington
, New Zealand and as an Ambassador to the Galapagos Conservation Trust
, the Global Environment Facility
, the Asian Development Bank
, and the UK Government, he has also had many other international conservation involvements such as: being employed as a research and management biologist in the Kafue National Park
, Zambia, helping to write the management plan; and one of the largest single biodiversity project in the world extending over the largest mangrove forest, the Sundarban Biodiversity Conservation Project in Bangladesh. Professor Swingland has been heavily involved with the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development
, the largest biodiversity project belonging to the Commonwealth and was appointed Chairman of the International Board of Trustees (2002). This 369,000 hectare reserve initiative has transformed itself from a top down donor-dependent project to a more market-driven organisation that works closely with the local community, the Rupununi
. He also advised China on integrated ecosystem management projects, its aim was to reduce land degradation, create alternative livelihoods, and conserve biodiversity using a market, not donation, approach.
(OBE) in the New Year Honours List for 2007 for his services to conservation. He was given an honorary Doctor of Sciences by the University of Kent
for his service to biodiversity conservation. He was awarded the Freedom of London 2001 and made an Honorary Bioscience Fellow, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International, 2002. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society (FZS) 1974, and the Royal Geographical Society
(FRGS).. He is a member of the Athenaeum Club, London
2004, and the Special Forces Club
2009.
Living in a Patchy Environment Shorrocks, B and Swingland, IR (editors). (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) Hardback ISBN 0198545916 Softback ISBN 978-0198545910
Integrated Protected Area Management Walkey, M, Swingland, IR and Russell, S.(editors) (MA and Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999) ISBN 0 412 80360 7
Carbon, Biodiversity, Conservation and Income: An analysis of a free market approach to Land use change and forestry in Developing and Developed Countries. Swingland IR,. Bettelheim EC, Grace J, Ghillean T, Prance and Lindsay, Saunders S (compilers) Theme Issue for the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 2002
Capturing carbon and conserving biodiversity: the market approach Swingland IR (editor), (Royal Society-Earthscan, 2003) 392 pp. Hardback ISBN 9781853839504, Softback 392 pp ISBN 9781853839511
CO2 e biodiversità: Un approccio integrato a favore del clima e del patrimonio naturale. Swingland I.R. (editor). (Edizioni Ambiente, Milano, Italy, 2004) 296 pp. ISBN 88-89014-19-9
In excess of fifty papers published in books and journals such as Nature, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Journal of Zoology London, Journal of Animal Ecology, Animal Behaviour, and Proceedings of the Royal Society.
Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology is a subdivision and research institute of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kent, started in 1989 and named in honour of the famous British naturalist Gerald Durrell...
) at the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
in 1989. While at DICE he served as director and was elected to the first Chair in Conservation Biology
Conservation biology
Conservation biology is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction...
in the United Kingdom.
Education and academic career
Ian Swingland was educated at Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' SchoolHaberdashers' Aske's Boys' School
The Haberdashers' Aske's Boys' School is a British independent school for boys aged 4–19. It is a member of the Headmasters' and Headmistresses' Conference and of the Haileybury Group....
, London, followed by London, Edinburgh and Oxford Universities. At London University, he read zoology
Zoology
Zoology |zoölogy]]), is the branch of biology that relates to the animal kingdom, including the structure, embryology, evolution, classification, habits, and distribution of all animals, both living and extinct...
and social anthropology
Social anthropology
Social Anthropology is one of the four or five branches of anthropology that studies how contemporary human beings behave in social groups. Practitioners of social anthropology investigate, often through long-term, intensive field studies , the social organization of a particular person: customs,...
and published his first scientific paper on the location of memory in a vertebrate in Nature in 1969 while an undergraduate. After working for Shell Research International for a short time, he took a PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
in ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
in the Forestry and Natural Resources Department at Edinburgh University on a Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
(formerly Foreign and Commonwealth Office/Overseas Development Administration) Scholarship. In 1974 he joined Oxford University Zoology Department for five years funded by NERC
NERC
NERC may refer:* Natural Environment Research Council* Nashville & Eastern Railroad Corporation* North American Electric Reliability Corporation* National Engineering Robotics Contest...
(Natural Environment Research Council) and the Royal Society
Royal Society
The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, known simply as the Royal Society, is a learned society for science, and is possibly the oldest such society in existence. Founded in November 1660, it was granted a Royal Charter by King Charles II as the "Royal Society of London"...
to work on the giant tortoises of Aldabra Atoll, Western Indian Ocean. He has been a former Visiting Professor at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, University of Florence
University of Florence
The University of Florence is a higher study institute in Florence, central Italy. One of the largest and oldest universities in the country, it consists of 12 faculties...
, University of Auckland
University of Auckland
The University of Auckland is a university located in Auckland, New Zealand. It is the largest university in the country and the highest ranked in the 2011 QS World University Rankings, having been ranked worldwide...
, and Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University is a university in North West England. Its headquarters and central campus is in the city of Manchester, but there are outlying facilities in the county of Cheshire. It is the third largest university in the United Kingdom in terms of student numbers, behind the...
and has worked as a research mathematician for Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
at Sittingbourne, Kent UK.
In 1979 he was appointed to the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
to create their Natural Science Continuing Education programme where he played a significant role in creating the national Access course
Access course
The Access to Higher Education Diploma is a qualification which prepares students - usually mature students, although the minimum age to be able to study for an access diploma is actually nineteen - for study as an undergraduate at university...
which is designed for people who would like to study in higher education but who left school without the usual qualifications, and ten years later founded DICE.
DICE
DICE (The Durrell Institute of Conservation and EcologyDurrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology
The Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology is a subdivision and research institute of the Department of Anthropology at the University of Kent, started in 1989 and named in honour of the famous British naturalist Gerald Durrell...
) is a multi-disciplinary research and postgraduate conservation training institute which has always maintained its commitment to the ideals set out at its founding: 'to fuse the accumulated experience of practical conservation projects and state of the art biological science with realistic perspectives of economics and the social sciences'. The name was chosen in recognition of Ian Swingland’s good friend, Gerald Durrell
Gerald Durrell
Gerald "Gerry" Malcolm Durrell, OBE was a naturalist, zookeeper, conservationist, author and television presenter...
, and his lifelong commitment to conservation. Swingland retired from the University in 1999 but continues to serve as Professor Emeritus, and as chair of the Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology which raises grants, scholarships and endowments for DICE so that it can expand its mission.
Involvement with other enterprises
As well as DICE, Ian Swingland has founded many other enterprises and institutions such as: the Herpetological Conservation TrustHerpetological Conservation Trust
The Herpetological Conservation Trust is a British wildlife charity for the conservation of herpetofauna: amphibians and reptiles. It was founded in 1989 by Vincent Weir and Ian Swingland of DICE and launched at the First World Congress of Herpetology in Canterbury that year...
1989 (renamed the Amphibian and Reptile Conservation Trust ), an international NGO and the international journal Biodiversity and Conservation 1989, the world’s first multidisciplinary journal in biodiversity management and sustainable development. He also co-founded a number of companies (such as Sustainable Forestry Management) which apply business and market approaches to benefiting conservation, biodiversity and people on an integrated, sustainable and ethical basis and co-founded, with Neil Wates and Colin Spedding, the think-tank RURAL in 1980 (Responsible Use of Resources in Agriculture and on the Land).
He was a draftsman of part of the Convention on Biological Diversity
Convention on Biological Diversity
The Convention on Biological Diversity , known informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding treaty...
concerning fair and equitable sharing of benefits (PrepComm UNEP Nairobi 1990) and was asked by Peter Scott to create the IUCN/SSC (International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Species Survival Commission) Tortoise Group in 1981 which is now the Tortoise and Freshwater Turtle Specialist Group.
As with the international agencies, Ian Swingland has had a lifelong involvement in national and international charities which improve the environment and people’s standard of living. He has influenced them to increasingly structure projects to become self-funding, economic sustainability being a precursor of environmental sustainability. He was a Trustee of Earthwatch
Earthwatch
Earthwatch Institute is an international non-profit organization that was founded in 1971 near Boston to promote action and understanding necessary to sustain the Natural environment...
1999-2009, and is Trust Chairman of Operation Wallacea
Operation Wallacea
Operation Wallacea is an organisation funded by tuition fees that runs a series of biological and conservation management research programmes operating in remote locations across the world...
. The Trust funds projects which seek to empower communities and individuals to develop successful commercially viable enterprises linked to the protection of biodiversity. Funding for nature conservation projects often includes provision of alternative livelihoods but in many cases these alternatives are not then linked to enhanced protection of the wildlife and habitats. He is also chair of the Rural Regeneration Unit, a Social Enterprise dedicated to self-help projects and a substantial food co-operative which has won prizes from the World Health Organisation and Carnegie United Kingdom Trust
Carnegie United Kingdom Trust
Carnegie United Kingdom Trust is a charitable foundation based in the United Kingdom, established by Scottish-born American steel magnate and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie on the model of his U.S. foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York....
, and the Durrell Trust for Conservation Biology, the Trust dedicated to support DICE. He has served on the RSPCA Council 1990-1995 and as Chair of its Wildlife Committee 1985-1990, as well as delivering their 150th Anniversary Lecture. Since 1985 he has served at various times on the Council of Fauna & Flora International [5] and has been the longest standing board member to the Darwin Initiative
Darwin Initiative
The Darwin Initiative is a UK Government funding program that aims to assist countries with rich biodiversity but poor financial resources to meet their objectives under the Convention on Biological Diversity ; the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ;...
, which funds multi-sectoral international projects in biodiversity management for the UK government. He was Chair of the Apple and Pear Research Council, a part of the Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board
The Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board is a levy board funded by farmers and growers. It plays a vital role in improving farm business efficiency and competitiveness in the areas of: pigs, beef and lamb production in England; milk, potatoes and horticulture in GB; cereals and oilseeds...
since 2003, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Centre for Biodiversity and Restoration Ecology, Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington
Victoria University of Wellington was established in 1897 by Act of Parliament, and was a former constituent college of the University of New Zealand. It is particularly well known for its programmes in law, the humanities, and some scientific disciplines, but offers a broad range of other courses...
, New Zealand and as an Ambassador to the Galapagos Conservation Trust
Galapagos Conservation Trust
The Galapagos Conservation Trust is a British conservation charity established to raise funds for, and awareness of, for the Galapagos Islands. It is a member of the Friends of Galapagos network...
International conservation work
As well as being an advisor on conservation and biodiversity management to the World BankWorld Bank
The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans to developing countries for capital programmes.The World Bank's official goal is the reduction of poverty...
, the Global Environment Facility
Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility unites 182 member governments — in partnership with international institutions, nongovernmental organizations, and the private sector — to address global environmental issues....
, the Asian Development Bank
Asian Development Bank
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 22 August 1966 to facilitate economic development of countries in Asia...
, and the UK Government, he has also had many other international conservation involvements such as: being employed as a research and management biologist in the Kafue National Park
Kafue National Park
Kafue National Park is the largest national park in Zambia, covering an area of about 22,400 km² . It is the second largest park in Africa and is home to over 55 different species of animals....
, Zambia, helping to write the management plan; and one of the largest single biodiversity project in the world extending over the largest mangrove forest, the Sundarban Biodiversity Conservation Project in Bangladesh. Professor Swingland has been heavily involved with the Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development
Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development
The Iwokrama International Centre for Rain Forest Conservation and Development is an autonomous non-profit institution established by Guyana and the Commonwealth...
, the largest biodiversity project belonging to the Commonwealth and was appointed Chairman of the International Board of Trustees (2002). This 369,000 hectare reserve initiative has transformed itself from a top down donor-dependent project to a more market-driven organisation that works closely with the local community, the Rupununi
Rupununi
Rupununi is a river and region in southern Guyana, South America, originating in the Kanuku Mountains. The Rupununi River runs from near the Brazilian border into the Essequibo River. The river during the flood season actually shares a watershed with the Amazon...
. He also advised China on integrated ecosystem management projects, its aim was to reduce land degradation, create alternative livelihoods, and conserve biodiversity using a market, not donation, approach.
Awards and recognitions
Ian Swingland was made an Officer of the Order of the British EmpireOrder of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
(OBE) in the New Year Honours List for 2007 for his services to conservation. He was given an honorary Doctor of Sciences by the University of Kent
University of Kent
The University of Kent, previously the University of Kent at Canterbury, is a public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom...
for his service to biodiversity conservation. He was awarded the Freedom of London 2001 and made an Honorary Bioscience Fellow, Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International, 2002. He is a Fellow of the Zoological Society (FZS) 1974, and the Royal Geographical Society
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
(FRGS).. He is a member of the Athenaeum Club, London
Athenaeum Club, London
The Athenaeum Club, usually just referred to as the Athenaeum, is a notable London club with its Clubhouse located at 107 Pall Mall, London, England, at the corner of Waterloo Place....
2004, and the Special Forces Club
Special Forces Club
The Special Forces Club was founded by surviving members of the Special Operations Executive , in 1946. "The Club", as it is simply known by its members, was established for all secret agents as a home in London....
2009.
Published works
The Ecology of Animal Movement Swingland, IR, Greenwood, PG (editors). (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1983) ISBN 0198575750Living in a Patchy Environment Shorrocks, B and Swingland, IR (editors). (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1990) Hardback ISBN 0198545916 Softback ISBN 978-0198545910
Integrated Protected Area Management Walkey, M, Swingland, IR and Russell, S.(editors) (MA and Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 1999) ISBN 0 412 80360 7
Carbon, Biodiversity, Conservation and Income: An analysis of a free market approach to Land use change and forestry in Developing and Developed Countries. Swingland IR,. Bettelheim EC, Grace J, Ghillean T, Prance and Lindsay, Saunders S (compilers) Theme Issue for the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 2002
Capturing carbon and conserving biodiversity: the market approach Swingland IR (editor), (Royal Society-Earthscan, 2003) 392 pp. Hardback ISBN 9781853839504, Softback 392 pp ISBN 9781853839511
CO2 e biodiversità: Un approccio integrato a favore del clima e del patrimonio naturale. Swingland I.R. (editor). (Edizioni Ambiente, Milano, Italy, 2004) 296 pp. ISBN 88-89014-19-9
In excess of fifty papers published in books and journals such as Nature, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, Journal of Theoretical Biology, Journal of Zoology London, Journal of Animal Ecology, Animal Behaviour, and Proceedings of the Royal Society.